


Should Have Known Better

by Pippers



Category: Professional Wrestling
Genre: Aftercare, BDSM, Kayfabe Compliant, M/M, Subdrop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 02:21:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21292037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pippers/pseuds/Pippers
Summary: Lykos drops after a session and Chris has to figure out how to take care of him.
Relationships: Chris Brookes/Kid Lykos
Kudos: 16





	Should Have Known Better

**Author's Note:**

> Based on characters, not real people. 
> 
> I'll leave whatever happened before this to your imaginations.

Chris had only been asleep fifteen or twenty minutes before he was woken up by something sad and snuffly.

It took him a moment to gain his bearings. He was in his bedroom. It was a long weekend and he and Lykos had had a particularly intense session earlier that evening. He had gotten them both cleaned up before settling in for the night. So what was he doing awake?

“Lykos, that you?”

He waited a moment but got no response. He started to flip the bedroom lamp when he realized the sound was crying. Or whimpering. Fuck. Lykos seemed fine earlier. Maybe a little dazed but they had stayed safe and sane. Well, mostly. 

He squinted his eyes in preparation for the light. The brightness still caused them to water. When he could make out shapes again, he turned over. Lykos was curled into himself and crying as softly as he could manage.

“Whoa, whoa, Lykos.” Chris reached over and rolled Lykos toward him, “What’s the matter?”

Lykos just shook his head without looking Chris in the eye. 

This was...not good. Lykos sometimes went nonverbal during their scenes but otherwise you couldn’t get him to shut up. 

“Will you at least shake your head for yes or no?”

Lykos hesitated a bit before nodding.

“Right. Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the A and E?”

Lykos shook his head vigorously. 

“Okay, is it something I did? Something we did?”

Chris knew he was stacking the question a bit but he didn’t want to think that he might be the sole cause of whatever was going on here. 

Lykos did a half shrug. He had at least stopped crying. That was a start. Chris could work with this. 

“Do you want me to help?”

Lykos bit his lower lip and nodded. 

At this point, he realized that it had gotten chilly. His flat was cheap, old, and draughty. And they hadn’t bothered getting dressed earlier either. 

Shit, if Chris was cold then Lykos must be freezing. 

“Alright wolfy, sit up. I’m going to take care of you.”

He grabbed an extra blanket from the wardrobe and draped it around Lykos’ shoulders like the saddest king Chris had ever seen. 

“I’ll be back. If you need me just...nod loudly.”

He pulled on a pair of discarded pants and went to the door. Without thinking, he turned round, made toward the bed, and kissed Lykos on the forehead. 

After some furious Googling in the kitchen, he came upon a page about sub drop. 

> _ Sub Drop is the body’s response to the drop of endorphins in the body after a play session. This can include fatigue, sadness, aches and pains and recovery from marks. The more emotionally intense form of Sub Drop can leave the individual feeling hungover or depressed.  _

This made sense, actually. Things had been...intense earlier that evening. And whether he would admit to it or not, Lykos had a lingering air of vulnerability ever since his in-ring retirement. 

Chris felt fucking stupid. He should have thought about this earlier. He knew this was a thing that could happen. It was just that he’d never had this issue with a partner before. Granted, his history with Lykos was more extensive than most of the partners he had played with.

After scanning the rest of the article, he made a game plan. He was good with plans despite what his teammates might say. Hell, he was the one in charge of most of their shows.

He started the electric kettle and found some tea in the back of the cupboard. The article had said that sugar can help restore energy so he upended half a container from Tesco. Chris would have preferred honey himself but Lykos was a dumb vegan so it would have to do. 

On the way back to the bedroom, he started a bath. The tap was set to warm but not scalding. He was pretty sure he had a packet of bath salt from his last mall trip stuck somewhere in the small room. 

Back in the bedroom, Lykos was curled up under the duvet. He was watched over by a plush toy that someone had initially bought as a joke but now lived on a bedside table. Chris pushed it aside and put down the mug he had brought from the kitchen. 

He still felt out of his depth. Should he be tender or firm? He figured any major personality deviation might make things more awkward so he tried to be his normal self. 

“Alright Lykos, I brought some tea for you. There was a tired bear on the box, so that’s fun. Here.”

He peeled back the duvet and gestured for Lykos to sit up. Careful not to spill, he handed the cup to Lykos and shuffled over to his side of the bed. He watched, with some apprehension, as Lykos regarded the tea. After a moment, he blew some of the steam away and took a sip. Chris couldn’t help but smile at the grimace on Lykos’ face. 

“I know, I know. I think honey would have tasted better but the internet said you needed sugar so that had to do.”

Lykos’ eyebrows shot up.

“Wha-oh god, I don’t mean I like, crowd-sourced it on Twitter or something. It’s just-I just found a site for-please just drink your tea so you can get in the bath.”

Lykos didn’t seem especially assured but he drank his tea at least. 

Chris was so shit at this. He had mostly avoided long-term entanglements for exactly this reason. Well, not exactly this reason but on the same basic principle. He was best at taking and bossing and leaving. Having someone depend on him was a minor nightmare. How was he supposed to know if he was doing the right thing? Other people knew how to deal with these things but not Chris. He reckoned that Lykos would figure that out any day now. Maybe even after tonight. His jaw tightened at the prospect of spending nights alone again. 

Just as he really started to wind himself up, he was interrupted by the sound of the mug being placed back on the table. Lykos was looking at him expectantly. Chris was lost for a moment before he remembered his plan. Self-loathing would have to wait. He got out of bed and went round to the opposite side. Without preamble, he scooped Lykos up princess-style and carried him to the bath. 

The temperature was perfect. Something had gone right at least. He lowered Lykos into the water and sat himself next to the tub. His ass was only protected by the thin cotton of his pants and he mentally cursed himself for not putting on pyjamas. 

He let his fingers trail in the warm water. His plan had only gone to this point. He wasn’t sure what to do next and he was feeling quite tired. Chris placed his head on the edge of the tub and closed his eyes. This night had gotten to him and he just wanted to block it out for a few minutes. Just a few minutes to get his bearings back and figure out what to do next. 

He wasn’t sure whether he was awake or dreaming when he felt Lykos squeeze his hand. He sat up and saw that Lykos was smiling at him. Nothing exuberant, just a soft, crooked smile. 

“Lykos, I’m gonna take care of you. Just like you take care of me. I don’t know what happened tonight but I’m here for you. I know that I push things too far sometimes. And that I ask for too much. And I know you’re probably sick of it. And I’m sorry I never let you cut promos. And that I didn’t protect you as well-,” 

Chris was interrupted by Lykos hugging him fiercely. He was surprised that his eyes were wet. Probably just from Lykos. Sodden idiot. That was probably it. 

Lykos pulled away enough to place a kiss on Chris’ temple and lean in to his ear.

“Shut up, Brookes.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Sufjan. 
> 
> UK Readers: Lemme know if there are any obvious American-isms. I did my best but still probably missed a few. 
> 
> I found helpful information at:  
https://www.submissiveguide.com/safety/articles/sub-drops-emotional-side   
https://jenniferbene.com/2016/12/ask-me-anything-what-is-sub-drop/


End file.
